Not the welfare measures, but crime against women went up, Harish slams Congress government

Harish criticises Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy's administration for its failure to fulfill promises made to women during 2023 Assembly elections

Hyderabad: Highlighting the yawning gap between the words and deeds of the Congress government in State during its 15-month rule, BRS MLA and former Minister T Harish Rao strongly criticised Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy’s administration for its failure to fulfill promises made to women during the 2023 Assembly election campaign.

The State government, which celebrated the second Women’s Day after coming to power, proved to be low on delivery, especially in respect of the promises made for the development of women. He recalled that the Congress government promised to provide Rs 20,000 crore in interest-free loans to women annually for five years, totalling Rs 1 lakh crore. But it could not manage to disburse at least Rs 5,000 crore so far, raising doubts about its ability to fulfill the remaining promises. The Congress government also pledged to provide Rs 2,500 per month to every woman under the Mahalakshmi Scheme, but this promise remains unfulfilled.

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Additionally, promises to provide electric scooters to young women, financial assistance and gold for weddings, and skill training centres for women entrepreneurs have not been implemented. Rao criticised the Congress government for discontinuing several welfare schemes initiated by the previous administration, including the KCR Kit, Nutrition Kit, Bathukamma Sarees, Arogya Lakshmi, Arogya Mahila, and the promise to hike pensions.

He also highlighted the rising crime rates and lack of safety for women under the current government. Rao demanded that the Congress government announce specific dates for the implementation of these promises during the Indira Mahila Shakti celebrations. He also called for Revanth Reddy to apologise for the government’s failure to deliver on its promises to women.

The Congress government’s approach has led to women facing increased debt and insecurity, with incidents of harassment and crimes against women on the rise. Rao emphasised that the government’s promises of women’s empowerment and safety have remained mere words.